


Almost as a whisper

by ValeReads



Series: Haikyuu Horror Week 2020 [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Forests, Hearing Voices, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, More Fluff Than Horror, Protective Kuroo Tetsurou, Walks In The Woods, Whispers, forest spirit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:47:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27272158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValeReads/pseuds/ValeReads
Summary: Kenma has been hearing a voice in the woods whispering his name for almost all his life.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: Haikyuu Horror Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983961
Comments: 16
Kudos: 104
Collections: Haikyuu Horror Week





	Almost as a whisper

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this prompt for the Haikyuu Horror Week 2020: He speaks (Day 8) 🖤

  
  


Kenma is five years old when he hears the voice for the first time. 

  
  


He was playing alone in his backyard with some of his favorite toys. His mom was talking on the phone just a few steps behind him and he could hear her talk with his dad about buying an apple pie on his way home. The gentle breeze of the wind was helping bear with the intense heat of the sun. It was a really hot day.

  
  


His mom goes inside the house looking for something in the kitchen with the phone still in his ear. Kenma watches as she steps inside the house and he immediately stands to go after her. But in the moment he takes the first step he hears someone calling his name. 

  
  


He blinks a few times before turning around a little intrigued by the deep voice calling for him. It sounds like a man and Kenma giggles thinking that his dad is about to surprise him with the apple pie. 

  
  


"Kenma." The deep voice says again.

  
  


Kenma walks following the sound, but it's not inside the house. He looks around and as if the voice knows that he is not entirely sure where it’s coming from, it calls for him again. 

  
  


"Kenma."

  
  


He tries to see between the small gap of the wooden fence that separates his house from the woods a couple of miles away. He closes one of his eyes, but he doesn't see anyone there. The wind is blowing very strongly and he can hear the whistling of the wind saying his name over and over.

  
  


It's not hard for him to cross to the other side since his body is small enough to go through one of the holes that his mom always tells his dad he should fix. The voice gets louder to help him follow the source and Kenma runs getting closer to the woods. 

  
  


"Kenma!" Kenma stops when he hears the scary and angry voice of his mom.

  
  


He turns around to see his mom running behind him. She takes him in her arms in an instant as she kisses his cheeks and part of his nose to then scold him for leaving the house. 

  
  


His mother carries him inside the house again as he looks into the woods direction. No one is there and this time he can hear nothing but the voice of his mom and the soft whistle of the wind.

  
  
  


The voice didn't call for him again until seven years later. 

  
  
  


Kenma was walking home from school and to get quickly to the comfort of his room to play his favorite video game he took a shortcut.

  
  


A shortcut through the giant woods.

  
  


He walks following the path, his eyes fixated on the big trees and the leaves that slowly were falling out of them. The birds were singing and it was making him feel less alone on his twenty minute walk, he can also hear the relaxing sound of the water floating from a stream nearby.

  
  


He is almost there and his legs know that because they start to speed up, he puts both of his hands on his pockets when he feels a shiver due to the sudden cold. 

  
  


"Kenma."

  
  


He stops the movement of his legs when he hears someone whispering his name. 

  
  


"Kenmaaaa." 

  
  


He gulps. He knows it's coming from behind him but he doesn't want to turn around. Maybe someone is playing with him? It could be one of his classmates that followed him here. 

  
  


"Kenma." 

  
  


Kenma takes a deep breath before walking again. His name doesn't sound like a whisper anymore, they are screaming it. He puts his hands on his ears as he starts running but he can still hear it. In fact, it's the only thing he can hear now, the birds are no longer singing, the water from the stream is not flowing anymore and the tree branches that were being hit due to the gentle breeze are now still. He only hears his name over and over in a deep voice and his fast heartbeat pounding on his ears.

  
  


He loses his balance when he tripped with a tree root making his face hit against the hard ground. He lays face down for a whole minute trying to calm his breathing refusing to look up at whatever that is following him.

  
  


When he lifts his head everything looks normal again. He bites his bottom lip to muffle his cry as he touches his hurt knee, it's probably bleeding a little but he just wants to stand and get out of here. 

  
  


Kenma slowly turns around and he exhales in relief when he sees that no one is there. He wipes his tears and walks home promising himself that he is never going to enter this woods again.

  
  
  


He breaks his promise a couple of years later. 

  
  
  


It was pretty dark outside despite still being early but he couldn't keep waiting anymore. His cat had disappeared since breakfast and that little beast never misses a meal. His parents told him that she will come back by lunch, but Kari is still missing. She never leaves the house because she prefers the comfort and warmth of his room and of course all the food they give her. He will not wait until dinner to start looking for her, she has never done this before and she probably doesn't know her way home.

  
  


That's why he is in the middle of the woods screaming his lungs out. "KARI!" He repeats and repeats.

  
  


He can swear he heard her bell and a soft meow coming from the dark and scary forest. And the love he has for her cat is stronger than a ridiculous memory from years ago when he was running from an annoying voice on his head.

  
  


"Kari!" He was about to turn around and leave to start looking for her around his neighborhood, when he heard the bell again.

  
  


Kenma runs after the sound immediately as he prepares a speech in his head to Kari about never being allowed to leave the house again. But his body tense almost instantly when he hears that voice again.

  
  


"Kenma."

  
  


It is him, or it. Kenma grips his flashlight tightly moving it around to light the way.

  
  


"Kenma." The voice says louder.

  
  


"Run!" His mind is telling him, but along the weird voice, he can also hear a soft meow. And he has been living with her cat the enough time to recognize her meowing 

  
  


"Yes?" He talks to the voice for the first time.

  
  


"Hello?" He tries again after a few seconds when he receives no answer. He walks taking little steps into the direction of the small river. 

  
  


"Kenma." The voice calls him in a soft tone. 

  
  


He has no choice but to keep following the sounds, the meowing gets louder as he advances and the voice isn't far behind.

  
  


Kenma stops in front of a big tree, his heart threatening him to leave his chest and his free hand shaking a little. "W- what do you want?"

  
  


Silence.

  
  


He opens his mouth to speak again, but a gasp leaves his lips as he jumps. The flashlight falls to the ground and rolls away only leaving the natural light from the moon and two round and yellow orbs.

  
  


"Kari! You scared me." The cat just meows before jumping into his arms.

  
  


He laughs a little relief, maybe mixed with a little bit of nervousness. He pets Kari's head and the cat instantly purrs. With a warm smile, Kenma lifts his flashlight and starts walking home, this time more at peace.... even as he feels someone watching him all the way.

  
  
  


The voice called out to him more and more frequently.

  
  
  


He was walking home taking the shortcut of the woods once again, he was already used to it now and he really wanted to get home as soon as possible since the cold wasn't letting him play with his console, his hands were safer under gloves and inside of his jacket pockets.

  
  


Snow is falling softly in the darkness covering everything in white. The white snowflakes are landing on his two toned hair and he has to blink several times every time the snow falls on his eyelashes. The snow that is making contact with his skin wasn't melting, probably because his temperature is just as low. 

  
  


It is so cold that it’s almost burning him. 

  
  


And as he deepens into the woods, more warmth his body gains. As if this little piece of land didn't belong to the rest of the cold city, as if it's somehow protected.

  
  


Kenma stops before he could hear him.

  
  


"Kenma."

  
  


He really doesn't have time for this. Kenma just rolls his eyes as he keeps walking, leaving his footprints on the soft snow with every step. 

  
  


He is used to hearing him, it's actually weird if he doesn't hear it at least once when he walks through the forest when sometimes he comes to play his video games in peace, resting his back on a tree and shelter himself in its big shadow. 

  
  


Of course, he has never told anyone about it. They will think he is crazy... well, he thinks that too. It's not normal to hear a creepy voice, but surprisingly it doesn't bother him anymore, it makes him feel less alone.

  
  


"Kenma." The voice says, quietly like a soft whisper. 

  
  


He just keeps walking. He knows that soon the voice will stop.

  
  
  
  


Of course it doesn't.

  
  
  


And a month prior to his eighteenth birthday, the voice gets louder and louder calling for him almost every day. 

  
  


"There is something unknown lurking out there in this very same forest."

  
  


"Oh, shut up."

  
  


"It's true!"

  
  


"My friend's cousin was playing by the lake when he was younger and he saw this blonde woman dressed in all white just walking to the deepest side of the lake. He said she saw her go in but never leave the cold water, his dad called the police but they never found anything there. Throughout the years, a lot of people have called to the station to give the same statement."

  
  


"Bullshit."

  
  


"Come on! How can you believe that? I was talking about a giant beast or something, a beast who is capable of ripping your throat out with a fast movement."

  
  


"Oh yeah, and I'm the crazy one?"

  
  


Kenma scapes from the ridiculous conversation his classmates were having, ex classmates really. They are having a party celebrating the end of school and they couldn't find a better idea than doing it in the woods. He just accepted because it was close from home.

  
  


The music is way too loud for his taste and the disgusting beer can he has on his hand is starting to freeze his fingers. 

  
  


It was almost two am and he was getting nervous, something is definitely off and it is making him feel uneasy. He positions the beer can on top of the improvised table and softly he says his goodbye, he doubts that somebody heard him, but he couldn't care less about it. He just wants to go home because he doesn't like one bit this feeling in his gut.

  
  


He starts walking almost in the dark, luckily the moon and the sky glow are bright enough to light up his way home. The night air gets colder and colder with each step he takes, from time to time a light breeze sends a shiver through his body, which is weird because the Summer heat is unbearable even at night. No matter how tightly he crossed his arms around his body to protect himself from the cold, the icy wind seems to be winning.

  
  


He had been walking for just a couple of minutes when he started hearing the faint sound of footsteps following behind him. 

  
  


It's probably nothing... right?

  
  


The further down the path he got, the more a sense of unease began to settle over him.

  
  


The footsteps are closer and his heart almost leaves his body when he hears his name. 

  
  


"Kenma."

  
  


A feeling of pure relief washed over him. "It's just him," he says to himself. He turns around knowing that nobody is going to be there, but his heart starts beating like crazy when he feels someone breathing hard and fast just a few steps away.

  
  


He focuses on the sounds around him, his ears trying to pick up something besides the sounds of a shoe against the ground and the elaborated breathing. A couple of owls, the tree branches hitting one another, the calm sound of the stream... his own heart beating fast against his chest.

  
  


Something doesn't feel right.

  
  


He pulls out his phone and turns on the light pointing behind him, but nothing is there. “Kenma,” the voice says again, this time louder, almost like a scream coming from the front. 

  
  


His body stiffens immediately and his shaky hand tries to light the path in front of him only to show him big trees.

  
  


He starts walking faster with his phone still on his hand.

  
  


"Kenma!" A voice shouts and of course he ignores it. He doesn't have the same feeling of security every time he walks around here. His body is screaming at him to leave as fast as possible.

  
  


“KENMA!” The footsteps are just behind him and he can feel it breathing down his neck.

  
  


The scream that left his lips when someone grabs his shoulder is quite pathetic. 

  
  


"Jesus, man! Calm down, I was calling you but you just started running." One of his classes says as he giggles, Minoru, if he's not mistaken.

  
  


"Oh, sorry. I- I didn't hear you." 

  
  


Minoru just laughs, he stumbles as he gets closer. 

  
  


"Man, can you help with the light? I left my phone there and I really have to pee."

  
  


"Umm I have to go-"

  
  


"Come on," he says as he grabs his shoulder tightly. "It won't take long."

  
  


They walk together close to the trees, Kenma lighting up the way with his phone and ignoring whatever his classmate is saying. He stays behind him looking at both sides, still with the feeling of someone following him.

  
  


"Hey! You are too close, are you tr- trying to see my big guy here?" The idiot says.

  
  


Kenma just rolls his eyes, wishing to leave soon. He grimaces when he hears him puke and he walks away from him before he could smell it. 

  
  


"Fuck... I drink too much."

  
  


"Disgusting," he says as he tries to find a way to escape.

  
  


Kenma sits on a rock waiting for his classmate. He plays with his feets a little as he sends a message to his parents saying that he is almost there.

  
  


Suddenly, he hears a loud and high-pitched scream. Kenma abruptly stands and he's not sure how he did it, because his legs are shaking. He grips his phone tightly to his body trying to light the way where the scream came from.

  
  


"M- Minoru?" 

  
  


Nothing.

  
  


"It's not funny. Are you okay?"

  
  


Again, nothing.

  
  


"You know what? I'm just going to go, I'm not in the mood for silly pranks." 

  
  


He stands in the middle of the forest for a whole slow minute. "Fuck, fuck," he hates him. 

  
  


Kenma walks carefully to a really slow pace not knowing what is awaiting for him. He doesn't see Minoru anywhere... "Shit," he mumbles to himself.

  
  


"Kenma," the deep voice says and he can't feel protected anymore because he can smell the blood from here. 

  
  


"Kenmaaaaa," the voice sings and Kenma can feel the smile on his voice.

  
  


His body acts on its own, his legs moving faster and faster. Kenma runs as he hasn't run in a really long time.

  
  


He couldn't even stop to catch his breath and he really wants to look behind him but his legs are not answering him, they're too focused on keep running. His lungs feel like they are on fire and the tears that are threatening him to roll down his face are burning his golden eyes.

  
  


"KENMA!" 

  
  


He keeps moving but he feels something pass by him knocking him down in the process. He lands on his knees and Kenma tries desperately to look for his phone, but he can't find it. He is breathing hard and tears are accumulating in his eyes. 

  
  


Kenma looks up when he hears a low and deep throaty growl. It didn't sound like an animal at all. It's probably the very real beast that his classes were talking about.

  
  


He feels the thing's warm breath on his face, it stinks like blood and death. Kenma was about to scream pathetically for help or maybe just scream like a little scared child, but those screams never left his mouth because he felt someone's hand covering it.

  
  


"Kenma," the voice says on his ear, sending shivers down his spine. 

  
  


His hands feel warm against his body, a clear sign that the voice who has been calling for him almost all his life is pretty much a living being. Kenma still can't see his face, but the man is definitely taller than him. His free hand is around his waist and Kenma doesn't know if he's going to throw him to the beast to eat him or if he's protecting him from it. 

  
  


They stay like that for a while until he can't hear the monster anymore. The grip of the man gets weaker. 

  
  


"W- who are you?" He asks in an almost inaudible voice.

  
  


He hears him chuckle. “I’m Tetsurou.” 

  
  


Kenma swallows thickly against the lump on his throat. “W- what do you want?”

  
  


“To protect you from my friend, he is a very hungry bastard and I would be very angry if I found out that he hurt you in any way.”

  
  


“What? Your friend is that beast?” 

  
  


“Yes, but he doesn’t always behave like this, he’s not quite in control of himself tonight, probably due to the full moon.”

  
  


What the fuck…

  
  


“Are you like him as well?”

  
  


Tetsurou lifts his hand to position it on his shoulder and he delicately turns him around. “A bastard? A little. A beast? I don’t think so.”

  
  


Sparkling hazel eyes are staring back at him, almost being hidden by part of his dark hair that the gentle breeze keeps messing up, his lips are forming a wide smile and he has beautiful green symbols marked on his face that seem to be glowing under the dim moonlight.

  
  


Tetsurou who hasn’t stopped smiling, puts his hand on his cheek caressing him softly with his delicate fingers until he reaches his jaw where he helps him close his gaping mouth.

  
  


Kenma feels his entire face on fire, but he doesn’t make any movement to look away from Tetsurou’s handsome face. He truly can’t believe what his eyes are seeing, he is the most gorgeous and breathtaking person he has ever seen and yet he doesn’t look like a person at all. 

  
  


“Come on, I will guide you,” Tetsurou says, his hand is still on his shoulder as they start walking. 

  
  


The trees seem to sing as they walk with its branches hitting one another and the leaves dancing around it with the help of the wind. Yet, the aura of the whole forest doesn't seem to be calm.

  
  


Kenma stops and turns around immediately when he hears different loud screams coming from behind them. 

  
  


"Don't worry about that, let's just keep walking." 

  
  


He waits a few seconds, still indecisive but he follows Tetsurou anyway. The screams got louder and desperate and he could recognize some of the voices. His mind is too busy thinking about Tetsurou to worry about that. 

  
  


"Why have you been following me for so many years?" He asks without even looking at him, his eyes still fixed on his shoes. 

  
  


"I haven't been following you, I can't leave this forest. Kenma, you are the one who has chosen to come back here again and again."

  
  


"Because you have been calling me, and how do you my name?"

  
  


Kenma stopped when he didn't feel Tetsurou by his side anymore, he met with darker eyes this time and involuntary, he took a couple of steps back. "So, a strange voice has been calling your name for all your life and your reaction to that is just to follow it? It looks like you missed me."

  
  


Kenma just frowns at the answer, he doesn't have time to do anything else when they get to the end of the forest. "You can't go further, right?"

  
  


"No, this is my limit. I better go back before they destroy my forest." 

  
  


Kenma just nods, finally lifting his eyes from the floor to try to engrave this moment forever into his mind. Tetsurou's smile is much softer now. 

  
  


"Will you come back? I have waited a long time to see you again."

  
  


Kenma nods again, feeling like Tetsurou is referring to a time before he was even born. In a time where their souls used to be one perhaps. "I will come back, as soon as you call me." 

  
  


"I'm always calling for you, Kenma." 

  
  


Tetsurou gets closer and he wraps his warm body around him, an arm is on his back and the other on the back of his head, always caressing his body. Kenma's face is almost on his neck inhaling his scent. 

  
  


He really feels at absolute peace right now.

  
  


Tetsurou pulls away from the embrace first, but his foreheads are still joined as he wipes the tears from his golden eyes. Kenma doesn't know what to say right now, but they will have time for words later.

  
  


Kenma advances forward until he doesn't feel Tetsurou's presence anymore. When he turns around, he is gone. He tries to look for him in the shadows beneath the tall trees but the dancing figures were not him.

  
  


"Tetsurou," he whispers as he walks away from the woods.

  
  


"Tetsurou." Kenma repeats with a firm voice.

  
  


And Tetsurou does not answer with words, but he feels his strong presence stronger beside him. Now both can communicate through whispers. Kenma smiles all his way home, wishing for them to meet again.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to end with Kuroo killing Kenma kdhdjdhd but I just couldn't.  
> [My Twitter!!](https://twitter.com/ReadsVale)  
> Kudos and comments are my fuel🖤🖤


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